Video Netcast - Ethnicity
 Windows Media  |   QuickTime

Transcript
Afghanistan is a very diverse country - ethnically and linguistically. There are four principal ethnic groups, although there are many other smaller ones.  The principal groups are the Pashtuns which account for about 39-45% of the population, depending on the figures you use. The Tajiks which can account for about 20-26% of the population; the Hazara which account for about 10-13% of the population and the Uzbeks which may account for 8-10% of the population. And then there are a number of smaller ethnic groups which make up the rest. The population of Afghanistan is roughly between 25 and 30 million.

All of these figures are very hard to nail down as there hasn't been a census in the country for decades. It is also a very politically sensitive question because the percentage of the population would help to determine what share of government postings that each ethnic group would be able to claim.

The interesting thing about ethnicity is that there is a very strong national identity. Most Afghans strongly identify as an Afghan and not just with their ethnic group. However, most groups still mobilize along ethnic lines, both politically and in the past, militarily. So it is a vital factor that you can't discount. It is important to note that there have been no cessationist movements in Afghanistan. I think this is an important thing to emphasis because often, in the West, we tend to characterize the Afghan conflict as an ethnic conflict and in many cases this just shows part of the story.